Gundam Wing: Fake or Real?
by Cathy Barton
Summary: Catherine is just a normal teen obsessed with Gundam Wing, but when nine new students come to her school, her whole world is about to turn around...(a Catherine + Trowa fic)
1. Sensory Imagery

Gundam Wing: Fake. or Real? Part 1:  
  
"Okay, you can come over now, Becky.okay, bye (click)" I hung up the phone quickly and jumped onto the couch and smiled fully. I was so excited!  
  
My friend Becky is bringing over 10 DVD's and a movie for us to watch together. Apparently, it's some anime show that she's obsessed with. To be honest, I can't spend so much as one minute on the phone without hearing her talk about this one character. I have to admit, I loooooove anime, even though I've never told anyone before, and I am so sooooo excited that she is coming over! I think the name of the show is Gundam Wing, but I'm not sure...  
  
I took a seat by the window, looking out into the front yard where the driveway was. It was so boring, waiting for her to arrive. I started reading something that was lying around, playing solitaire, and it seemed like hours before she came. In the real world, it was about fifteen minutes, but I don't live in the real world....most of the time.  
  
I sprang up from the chair as soon as I saw a car pull up in the driveway, and quickly flung open the door to run out and greet her. She came out of the car, and waved at me excitedly. My friend Becky is a little shorter than me, with brown hair up to her shoulders. She is usually portrayed as being weak and shy, but never be deceived by what people may tell you. She's quite the opposite.  
  
"Hey, Becky!" I bounced over to her and started tugging at her sleeve impatiently, "Thanks for coming! I can't wait to watch the DVD's! C'mon!!!!" I exclaimed, practically dragging her into my house.  
  
"Okay, okay! I didn't know you were this hyper already! Bye dad!" Becky motioned to her dad as she lifted up her sleepover stuff to bring inside and her dad drove off. This night was going to be fun. I could tell.  
  
~~~  
  
Once we were up on the third floor of my house, which is basically the playroom, we turned on the computer, and put in the first DVD. I sat there, staring at the monitor, and watched.....and watched...and watched. By the end of the first episode, I was already obsessed. You don't know how I get when I'm obsessed; it's very scary, to say the least.  
  
"More, more!" I yelled at the computer screen, while Becky watched-on with a huge sweat-drop on the back of her head. She knows how I get when I'm obsessed. I was really anxious to know what was going to happen to Heero and Relena. As we continued on through the second episode, I recalled Becky saying something about her obsession with some dude called Duo Maxwell. After this episode, I was practically loopy with love over the boy with the butt-length braid, plum-colored eyes, puffy pants and a minister's collar.  
  
After we were done with the first DVD, I knew all of the characters.  
  
Heero: the suicidal dude with cool bangs, spandex (which melts at 480 degrees F, by the way..*shudder*), and a secret butt portal from which he pulls his gun (or guns.hee hee hee).  
  
Then Duo: The cute guy, with the cross, black puffy pants, minister's collar, butt-length chestnut colored braid, and a sense of humor; The God of Death he calls himself.  
  
Then Trowa: the half Gundam pilot, half clown in the circus, who doesn't speak much, (I loved it when he said "Pilot's name: Trowa, for the record".don't ask...I also absolutely love the green eyes.) but when he does speak, he always has something interesting to say. He's always so deep in thought, which is probably why he doesn't speak all that much. Hey, did you know that the definition of the word 'trow' is 'to think'? Also, he's quite tall, obsessed with his aqua-colored turtleneck (jk), and has really, really, really (I mean freakishly) long (quite pointy) bangs, which, in my opinion, are really cool.  
  
And then there's Quatre: The little blond Arabian boy (who is rich, veeeeery rich, lots 'o' moola rich, $$$), and also, I'm just saying.might have a little crush on Trowa.hee hee hee! (Sorry Quatre fans out there.didn't mean to hurt your feelings (cough) he's gay (cough-cough). I'm okay.ha ha ha ha ha (laughing insanely like Quatre did after his dad died...that was really freaky...))  
  
Then last, and certainly, in my opinion, least is Wufei (barf). He is this irate Chinese guy who always seems to have a stick up his ass. He has a gundam named Nataku and he calls people weaklings whenever he gets the chance. He's completely sexist against women, and likes to talk about 'injustice' and that sort of thing. Anyways.heh heh, he also pulls his hair back in a greasy ponytail, and is just about as ugly as they get (even uglier than those shots of Hilde from the side where she looks like a man! Don't worry, I think Hilde's cool).  
  
After we watched a couple more DVDs, I knew all the other characters, which aren't as important as the five hottie boys (whoops, four, booting Wufei out, lol). After watching the third DVD, though, Duo got booted down to second place on my hottie G-boys list, and Trowa Barton captured my heart in first place. I loooooove Trowa, I could just stare into those sparkling green eyes alllllll day.*sigh*. (drooooooool.) Anyways, I was always so interested in his relationship with Catherine, too, because, well, my name is Catherine, so, well, enough said. Besides, Trowa is the hottest clown you've ever seen, don'tcha think?  
  
The rest of my summer in eighth grade I spent watching Gundam Wing, the first and second seasons. I was sooooo obsessed. I wrote numerous stories, read thousands of GW fanfictions, I downloaded the songs from the show, saw the movie, and anything else an obsessed girl could possibly do! By the end of the summer, my huge bulletin board was crammed full with pictures of Gundam Wing.mostly Trowa.hee hee. But unfortunately, the most dreaded time of the year was coming up. We had to go back to.dum dum dum.school! (ahhhh, ack.heart attack, can't breath.hack, cough, wheeze.THUMP!)  
  
~~~  
  
I had gotten lucky; most of my friends were in my house in high school. Life is good! The teachers have been announcing that five new students are coming to school.all boys! Yipee! (We seriously need some more hotties around here!)  
  
I think ones coming from somewhere in the U.S., one from Japan, one from Arabia, one from China, and I forget where the other one is from....oh well. Funny thing is that they all speak English like us! Yay! Also, four girls are coming to school, one from Japan, one from Germany, and I forget where the other two are from! They all speak English, too! I can't wait for their arrivals! It'll be so cool!  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
I sighed. I couldn't wait for lunch to be over. Next period, the kids were said to arrive. It was just a rumor, but still. I munched on my cold taco meat.was it really meat? You never can tell with these damn cafeteria foods.  
  
"So, ya think these new kids really coming? I mean; we barely ever get new students here." Becky asked me before taking another bite of the mystery meat. At least if I got sick, I wouldn't be alone.  
  
"Yup.I do. I hope they'll get here soon." I sighed, and took a sip of my Snapple.  
  
All of the sudden, the cafeteria doors opened up wide.  
  
A kid named Rick Fiddler said, "Quick! To the auditorium! They're here! I swear! I saw them walking down the hallway!"  
  
Immediately, we all jumped from our seats, and raced out the door. By accident, in the hallway I bumped into my crush, Evan. He looked at me, eyes twinkling. "Sorry, Cathy!" he said, and ran down the hall. I stopped in my tracks. No one calls me Cathy except my friends. Wow...I thought to myself...he called me..Cathy. . .?  
  
"Hey, watch it asshole!" I screeched as a kid bumped into me from behind. I rolled my eyes, and ran on. Eventually, I took a seat in the back of the auditorium next to Becky, so that we could see the new students introduced to us. It was really exciting.  
  
"Hey, look!" I said, and pointed towards the door opening. Four boys, and four girls, just as they said, but my jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes bugged out when I saw who they were. It couldn't be.could it? There stood Heero, Duo, Quatre, Wufei, Relena, Hilde, Dorothy, and Sally, and all of my favorite characters from Gundam Wing....minus one.  
  
"Becky, it's them! Duo, Heero, Relena, they're all from Gundam Wing!" I cried out, still in shock, but all Becky did was stare at me with a blank face. "Huh? Becky, you know, the anime show you introduced me to? The one we're both obsessed with?"  
  
"Ummm.what the heck are you talking about?" Becky questioned, staring at me with a quite confused look.  
  
"Never-mind." I grumbled. Why didn't she know? What the hell is wrong with her? She's just being sarcastic, I decided quickly, focusing my attention completely on the eight new students at the front of the room.  
  
Our principal walked up to the podium. "Good afternoon, students. We have some news students, let's let them introduce themselves, shall we?"  
  
They began with Heero, who stepped up to the podium. He may not have been wearing his trademark spandex shorts, because of the uniform, but I was positive that was Heero; a face that expressionless couldn't possibly be anyone else.  
  
"Heero Yuy, it's a pleasure." He said, with no feeling at all. It was remarkable, really.  
  
Next came Duo along with his fun-loving personality as he bounced up to the front of the line of six students, and quickly said "Yo, Duo Maxwell here, nice to meet you all!" He exclaimed, flipping his braid around a couple of times before he bounded into the first seat he saw in the room and started flirting with the girls drooling around him from all sides.  
  
"Wow, what a hottie...." Becky sighed, admiring the boy with the plum colored eyes, braid, and winning smile. Whoa, it was freaky; he was wearing the cross, puffy pants, and the collar. I heard the gothic section of the ninth grade whisper about how he is so going to fit in.  
  
"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner. Pleased to meet you!" a blond head peeked from behind the others, and said in his regular, cheerful tone. Oh my God, he is so not going to fit in with that pink shirt...I'd better warn him after school.  
  
Then came Chang 'justice boy' Wufei. "..Wufei" he addressed the class with a slight bow as he proceeded to his assigned seat, unlike Duo had. Yup, greasy ponytail and ugly pants; It was definitely him. Uh huh.he'll probably join the martial arts club or something weird like that.  
  
Then all the girls introduced themselves, and I thought to myself: Dorothy is sooooo joining the fencing club. But then I thought, wait, where's Catherine and Trowa?! Nooo!!! Why is Trowa missing....? *sigh*  
  
~~~  
  
Sixth period, I had English, and quickly ran to class, hopeful that we would have a new student in class. I walked into Ms. Grandia's room, and saw Quatre sitting at a desk. I decided to sit next to him. "Hey, I'm Catherine, nice to meet you, Quatre Raberba Winner!" I said.  
  
"Wow, you got my name right! That's quite impressive! It's very nice to meet you, Catherine." He replied, with a complete expression of shock. I laughed at the Arabian, because I knew about him being a Gundam pilot, even though he didn't.  
  
Ms. Grandia led us through her boring class. I glanced at the clock while she was blabbing on about figurative language and sensory imagery. Ten minutes left.  
  
"Sensory imagery is when you describe something with your five senses..." The door began to open. Heads turned. A boy, quite tall for his age, walked through the door. Trowa? Trowa Barton?! He was here, at last.  
  
/Look/  
  
He looked pretty damn good to me. I loved his brown bangs, aqua turtleneck, and white jeans. Dazzling green eyes soon locked onto mine and a slight smile crossed his face. Huh?  
  
/Hear/  
  
The class was so quiet; I could only hear the sound of Trowa's quick, sharp breaths. He was nervous. Ms. Grandia's annoying voice was ringing in my ears like the echo that drove Narcissus to insanity, but I blocked that out. I could only think of one thing.Trowa. I heard the teacher that escorted him in say, "There, next to Catherine."  
  
/Feel/  
  
As he walked to the seat next to me, his turtleneck brushed against my side, smooth as all cotton shirts are. I flinched at the contact, at first shying away, but I knew that I only wanted to get closer.  
  
/Smell/  
  
He smelled pretty good to me, not like cologne, (personally, I believe it's really weird for boys to wear cologne. Also, I was kinda gagging from the lack of oxygen caused by the large application of Quatre's musky smelling one). But Trowa was different, he smelled sweet. It was almost too good to be true, a scent impossible to describe with the limitations of words.  
  
/Taste/  
  
Well, I imagined he would taste pretty good to me, but let's not go there. (drooooool.)  
  
"And those are all five of the senses!" Ms. Grandia said enthusiastically, as she pointed to the words written on the board, but honestly, all I could concentrate on was Trowa.  
  
/He's next to you! He's next to you/  
  
It was the only thought that kept recurring in my brain. I couldn't think straight, trying hard not to think about the five senses, because it really wasn't helping me a whole lot here. All I was trying to do was keep Trowa out of my mind, but my mind insisted.  
  
"Um, Catherine, please describe sensory imagery using what I just told you," Ms. Grandia said.  
  
I quickly snapped out of my daze. "Um, uh, Trowa?!" I blurted out before I had a chance to think. My mind was completely infatuated with him. I had no control over my actions anymore. AHHHHHH!!! Not that I'm complaining or anything; I kinda liked the pictures I was getting in my head about how Trowa would taste.  
  
"Heh heh. No. Sorry, that's wrong, Catherine. Maybe if you had paid attention during my explanation instead of gawking at Mr. Bangs here, you would have known." Ms. Grandia harshly replied. "Now, does anyone know the answer?"  
  
My cheeks began to burn with embarrassment for the next couple of seconds before I had the courage to turn and look at Trowa. He was slightly blushing, and he had a small smirk on his face.  
  
"There, there, it's okay." Quatre reassured me. Was it just me, or was Quatre beginning to quote my mom??? I don't know which was more humiliating, Quatre, or my recent embarrassing episode of infatuation with the totally hot guy next to me. I think that was enough excitement for one English class, don't you?  
  
Tbc ^-^  
  
_____________________________________  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. I don't own Snapple. Don't sue me. I'm poor.  
  
____________________________________  
  
Thanks to Foxfire for editing!  
  
At the time, I did not know that Trowa and Catherine were brother and sister. -_-  
  
Please Review! 


	2. Tightropephobia

Part 2:  
  
I stumbled slowly down the hallway, only occasionally snapping back into the real world. I had just witnessed the presence of the absolute hottest guy on earth, and he used to be a cartoon character. This definitely wasn't a typical school day. I blinked a couple of times as I spotted my locker through the mass of people in front of it. To my surprise, I saw a flash of bright blond hair amidst the usual browns. There was only one person with that color hair, and quickly popped his head above the crowd quickly as he saw me approaching, and smiled slightly. How did he know my locker number, I wondered as I came up to an enthusiastic Gundam Pilot with attire only slightly duller pink than Relenas. Now THAT's a scary thought.  
  
"Catherine. . ." he started. I looked at him as I flung open my locker. It didn't really pay to lock it, I mean, who would want to steal a math textbook? One is bad enough.  
  
"Yeah, Quat?" I took a notebook out of the depths and collected it within the other books I held reluctantly, and waited for the nervous-looking boy who had been only a figment of the imagination a couple of hours ago. The safest thing to do was to play along, though it didn't seem possible, but perhaps I'm just insane. It's not that far of a stretch for any of us.  
  
"I really like this school. Do you think I'll fit in?" Quatre asked me, his smile slightly fading; he looked worried.  
  
"Ummm." I stammered. Should I tell him about the shirt? "Well, uh, you might want to change that pink shirt of yours."  
  
"What? I love this shirt! People should wear bright, pretty colors like this," he exclaimed, tugging at his shirtfront. Then he pointed over to that Duo, who was standing in the middle of the popular crowd, being flirted with by half the ninth grade's girls. "Not dark, ugly colors like those."  
  
"Uh, yeah. . .just a thought. . ." I said. It looked like I was never changing his mind. I guess that you can't exactly change one's personal preference. I sweat-dropped.  
  
I was still deep in thought when I heard the conversation across the hall come to an end and the cocky chestnut-braided boy bounce up to Quatre.  
  
"Hey, sissy-boy," Duo grinned; prodding the blond boy playfully, "where'd you get that shirt, Limited Too?" he grinned even wider (if possible) at the antic.  
  
"Shut up, Maxwell!" Quatre laughed, giving him a slight punch in the arm. Did they know each other, like in the show? It certainly made sense, but then; why were they here anyway?  
  
Duo's attention turned towards me. "Hey, Quatre, who's the girl? Not bad, if I do say so myself." he chuckled.  
  
I blushed fervently. That guy would flirt with anyone! "Hey!" I tried to defend my pride. I'm more than just pretty looks, you know! I steamed silently, but my good friend luckily filled the awkward silence fairly quickly.  
  
"Duo, leave her alone. I think she has her eyes on Trowa." Quatre joked. Yeah, some friend; I began to blush again.  
  
"Quatre!" I shouted. Quatre giggled slightly. This was not a laughing matter!  
  
"Oooooooooh! I'm gonna go tell him!" Duo said, and ran away.  
  
"Nooo! Duo, don't!" I screeched.  
  
"Don't worry, chick, I won't," he replied, and winked. Then he walked back over towards the popular crowd, and began to flip his braid around and flirt with the girls.  
  
"That Duo! Don't worry, I wouldn't have told him something like that if I wasn't positive that he wouldn't tell if you didn't want him to." Quatre looked over to Duo as he was presently finishing a joke that left everyone with raised eyebrows, and dare I say crickets in the background. Quatre was the only one who laughed.  
  
"Hey uh, do you know Duo or something?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah, ever since.um, no, nevermind," Quatre began, but stopped shortly. Okay, they were definitely hiding something, and I'll give you three guesses what. It was obvious he didn't want to tell me about them being gundam pilots. I knew it. There wasn't anything that could catch me off guard, not after they had come to my school. I was determined to figure them out. What exactly had brought them here, and how?  
  
Quatre's attention quickly turned to something behind me. I turned around swiftly; and found Trowa was walking up slowly to me. He was actually -looking- at me!  
  
"Hey, Cathy, do you have your costume ready? We're going to be late for the circus." Trowa exclaimed, still slightly expressionless, but he said this with more expression than I had heard him ever say. I froze. Not only was the hottest guy on earth talking to me but also he had obviously mistaken me for someone else.  
  
"Ummm.no." I muttered, confused. What? Why am I going to the circus? Maybe he's asking me out on a date to the circus, or wants me to come watch him. Wait, but my.costume???  
  
"Well, the manager is really gonna give it to you this time! It's always me, now let's see how mad he'll be when he realizes his perfect knife- thrower doesn't have her costume." Trowa teased, a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Uh.yeah.um, bye Quatre!" I yelled, as I followed after Trowa, who was slowly walking away. Wait, what was I doing? Whoa, wait a second, throwing knives? I can't even cut an apple without hurting myself!  
  
"C'mon! Hurry up!" Trowa nagged, pulling on my sleeve. Okay, to throw knives or not to throw knives, that is the question. . . but a really hot guy is actually touching me, and it's messing with my brain. How could I possibly say no to a face like that?  
  
"Okay! I'm coming!" I blurted out, barely realizing what I had just agreed to, and ran so I could catch up with the tall boy.  
  
"Wait for me!"  
  
~~~  
  
I followed Trowa to the circus. It looked exactly like it did in the show! The big tent, the lions, the dressing room with the stools. it was all there, and it was really freaky. Now that I think of it, I never remembered there being a circus here in the first place.  
  
"Okay, here's an extra costume Cathy." Trowa said, handing me the dark red leotard with the puffy pink skirt, and the white undershirt and tights and shoes. Well, I suppose what was I expecting. . . this is a circus, after all.  
  
"Ummm.thanks," I said, and went behind a curtain to get changed. I quickly slipped into the clothes and looked at myself in the mirror. Whoa, this was totally freaky. I finally was beginning to realize why I was here. The curly red-brown hair, the star earring. . . this wasn't me, and yet, it was. . .it didn't make sense! And, yet, it was all beginning to add up.  
  
I hadn't noticed at first, but Catherine from the show never came to our school. The similarity between us both had become so obvious once I put on her costume. It was almost like, I don't know what! Oh my God!!! What is happening!? I looked almost exactly like Catherine from the show! Even my recent haircut and wavy hair made my hair spring up, and bounce around. In this light, my eyes looked a light gray, just like hers. Had I turned into her?  
  
Yes, I had. It wasn't just the light; my eyes had actually gone from brown to gray.  
  
I stepped out of the dressing room, and sat on a stool next to Trowa, which was in front of a huge mirror. Trowa was in his clown costume and I had to practically shove my hand into my mouth to suppress myself from bursting out laughing.  
  
"Okay, where's your make-up?" Trowa asked me. I looked into his green eyes. This wasn't right, it wasn't me he was seeing, it was the other Catherine, and it wasn't fair to him. I felt a pang of sadness.  
  
"Oh, dang! I forgot where I put it!" I lied badly, still hurting, and hoping he might know.  
  
"It's right over there," he said, pointing to a pink case lying on top of a trunk full of costumes.  
  
"Oh, right," I said, walking over towards Catherine's things. This wasn't theft, right, was it? Technically, I was Catherine, now, right? No, I was still myself, but I would do anything just to be with Trowa just a little longer.  
  
I opened up the bag. I found a dark pink lipstick, a light gold colored eye shadow, dark brown colored mascara, and black eyeliner. I knew how to apply everything but eyeliner. Uh oh, I was really in for it now . . .  
  
I started putting everything on, first the lipstick, then the shadow, then the eyeliner (which I did a very good job of applying . . . it being the first time I ever did it) then the mascara. I looked good, really good.  
  
"Wow, you look great!" Trowa said, looking at my reflection in the mirror from halfway across the room, "But there's something about your eyeliner."  
  
Uh oh.this is it, I thought to myself. He'll know for sure the Catherine he knew had changed just a little bit.  
  
"It looks, different, better, not that it looked bad before.just.wow." he stammered. And I thought Trowa was a man of few words.boy, was I wrong.  
  
Ha ha, in your face, Catherine! I apply make-up better than you! I thought egotistically to myself. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.  
  
"Okay, Trowa, you're up!" the circus master yelled from the other room, pulling the curtain back slightly to find Trowa sitting by the lion's cage, and he quickly got up heading to the entrance to the ring.  
  
"'Kay!" he said, pulling aside the red cloth as he walked out to an enthusiastic crowd. It was very full that night, I thought. After Trowa headed out, I headed out, just a little bit, to observe the crowd and, if the manager didn't catch me, the act as well.  
  
The lights flashed, and a voice came onto the speaker and echoed through the tent. "And now, an act with the lion; performed by a young clown!" the director announced in his odd voice. I spotted Hilde and Duo in the audience. I saw Hilde say, "Watch out!" when the lion came up from behind Trowa. I saw her watch in amazement as he dodged the lion, and flew up in the air, flipped, and landed on the lion's back, just like in the show. Then I saw her say, "I could fall for that clown." and Duo saying, "Yeah, right" he gave Hilde a winning smile, and she chose to flash him a smile back before leaving a smirking Duo looking at her as she went back to cheering for Trowa. I laughed.  
  
Trowa took his bows to the applauding crowd, and wasted no time in coming back into the room. "You were great," I said. "Thanks," Trowa replied, sitting back down on the stool he had been on before the preformance.  
  
"Okay, Catherine, the tight-rope walker isn't here, so you have to cover for him, okay? Now go get 'em!" the circus director said enthusiastically, and pointed towards the steps leading up to the tight rope.  
  
Well, how bad could it be? I had been an expert at the balance beam, and had even made a habit of walking on clotheslines when I was little, but this was different! Those were two feet off the grass, and the worst I could do was breaking an arm, which I did, several times. This was different. There weren't any nets! The worst I could do was die!  
  
I climbed higher, and higher, and higher, beginning to feel dizzy as I neared the top. I was never afraid of heights before, but all of the sudden, I felt the sudden urge to go back down. I had never been afraid of anything, really, but then again, if I really was Catherine from the show, I could do this with no problem, right?  
  
I reached the final platform where a person was standing to give me a pole with a little black button on it, and said, "When you're ready, push the button, and start walking briskly. No matter what you do, don't look down!"  
  
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, shaking.  
  
"Of course, what are you saying, you're a professional! Now go!" he ordered, pushing me out into the light of the platform at the edge of the wire. The director announced something, but I was too high up and too scared to bother listening.  
  
I pushed the button and flames erupted from both sides of the pole. Um, something tells me this is why they didn't mention what it did before. Sweat drizzled down my back. Okay.you can do this, I reassured myself, and cautiously took the first step, and it was stable. I started walking, precisely, and as quickly as possible. I was careful not to lose my balance, or to look down. A couple of times in the middle I felt myself loosing my balance, but quickly adjusted the pole so that I wouldn't fall. The mistakes were barely noticeable to the audience, but all I could afford to think about was the expanse of rope ahead of me, and I finally cracked. Glancing down for a split second, I felt verrrry dizzy, and for the first time in a long time, was actually truly petrified. I stopped, and felt a tear trickle down my cheek.  
  
I spotted Trowa watching me from the ground; I was halfway there. I could do it. Mustering up every bit of courage I had left, I began to walk again. Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, clang! I had reached the end on the hard metal platform; it was over! I pressed the button to turn off the flames, and handed the pole to the person that greeted me at the platform.  
  
I climbed back down, and took my bows. The audience went completely wild, like they did with Trowa, cheering, whistling, and clapping. I felt proud of myself, accomplishing something risky like that. Trowa walked over to me as I we both came backstage.  
  
"Amazing." he said, with a smile.  
  
"Thanks." I murmured. He looked at my face, and walked closer and closer to me, and then stopped. Our noses were only four inches apart.  
  
"Trowa?" I questioned. Were we having a moment? I sure hoped so. He reached his hand up, and placed it against my cheek. Oh my God, I thought to myself.this is it, he's gonna kiss me.  
  
He wiped his own sweaty hand across my cheek, and pulled it back to reveal a black line running across it. He wiped off my mascara that had run down my cheek when the tear came, and I watched wide-eyed as Trowa walked away.  
  
I stared at his back in awe. I was in shock, partly because a guy I had a crush on from an anime show was suddenly real, and about to kiss me. But I was even more surprised that he didn't kiss me, only wiping my cheek. Disappointed, I walked back behind the curtain, sighed, and began to dress into my normal clothes.  
  
~~~  
  
When I got home, I ran up to my room. Everything was the same, except that my bulletin board that used to be full of anime pictures of Trowa. They were all, now, full of real, life-like pictures of him. I ran over to the drawer in my desk, where I kept my collection of Gundam Wing DVD's. They were gone . . . vanished. . . every single one of them.  
  
I guessed it really was true, I was actually Catherine from the show, and suddenly the world of Gundam Wing was now the real world. This was so NOT happening!  
  
I walked downstairs quickly and turned on the T.V. to maybe get a taste of the real world, just once today. I flipped quickly to channel four, to see what the news was. The reporter was blabbing on about some colony in space; so my theory really was true.it was almost unreal. . .  
  
That night I lay awake in bed thinking about what would happen next. Would there be a war? Would things ever be back to normal? Would Trowa ever kiss me?  
  
I sighed, and shut my eyes. There was no use worrying over such things; no matter how hard I try, there is no way I can predict the future. I listened to the sound of, my favorite radio station, and eventually drifted off into a deep sleep. At least some things hadn't changed.  
  
~~~  
  
I woke up to the emptiness of saturday, and rubbed my eyes. Yes, today was Saturday; Becky was coming over at 12:00. I jumped out of bed, and yawned and stretched. I glanced at the clock; it read 11:00. Whoops, I guess I had slept in a little too late.heh heh.  
  
It felt like old times.  
  
I ran downstairs with enthusiasm, and made myself a breakfast of eggs and a glass of orange juice before hopping in the shower. I was ready by 11:55.  
  
Once Becky came, we went up to the third floor. I turned on the computer, still determined to make her understand that Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and all the rest were actually real. . . well, either that or we had become 'unreal' but what are the chances of that happening. Well, actually nothing could surprise me right now.  
  
"C'mon, Becky! You have to remember! The show was called Gundam Wing. There were five boys as the main characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Then there was Treize, Zechs, Noin, and Lady Une. And Hilde, Catherine, Relena, Sally, and Dorothy. Remember?"  
  
"Ummm.aren't they the new students in school?" Becky asked, giving me a What-the-heck-is-she-talking-about-look.  
  
"Yes! But that's just the thing! You have to believe me; suddenly their world has become reality, and we're living it! I used to be Catherine Hughes, but now, I'm Catherine Bloom, you know, from the show, the knife- thrower in the circus!" I explained, rummaging through the drawer where we had all of our family photos, but I couldn't find any pictures of me with my old hair and eyes.  
  
"Damn." I hissed, but turned up at my friend pleadingly. "You'll just have to believe me somehow."  
  
It was possible, I suppose, that when all this happened, the memory of their ever being a Gundam Wing was erased because both worlds had somehow come together, and only I must have remembered because I was actually a product of that fusion. Wait, what was I talking about?! FUSION!? This sounds like a bad science fiction film!? I began tearing at my hair and clenching my teeth in frustration.  
  
"Ummm." Becky murmured.  
  
"Maybe I'm just going crazy!" I yelled in a fit of anger, continuing to pull at my hair, but I stopped when I heard Becky begin to speak.  
  
"So this was a T.V. show?" I nodded, "Didn't you say there was a dude named Duo?" Becky questioned, with a confused look on her face. I could tell she was trying her hardest to remember.  
  
"Yes, there was a guy named Duo, gosh!" I exclaimed. "You're a little slow!" I joked.  
  
"Shut-up. Did I have any favorite lines of his?" Becky asked.  
  
"Oh, now that you mention it, you did. It was: "Just watch me. I'll be the God of Death once again! But right now, I need some sleep." Remember?" I quoted.  
  
"Du-Duo.DUO!!!!!!!" Becky exclaimed. "I remember! From the episode where he and Wufei are trapped, and they cut off the oxygen supply, and Lady Une saves them, and gets shot! I remember!"  
  
"Holy shit! I work miracles!" I laughed.  
  
"DUO's at our SCHOOL!!!! Oh my God!!! This can't be happening!" Becky began to look around frantically, finally resting on my face in a fit of half happiness, and half confusion.  
  
"Yay! You remember!" I exclaimed, as Becky began to look curiously at me, brows furrowed, "What is it?" I asked curiously.  
  
"You look an awful lot like Catherine from the show, you know that?" Becky said quite innocently, and all I could think to do was to place a hand on my forehead and shake my head helplessly.  
  
_______________________  
  
Thank you for editing, Foxfire!  
  
Cathy: *Sob* I don't own Gundam wing or Trowa *starts bawling uncontrollably * I wish I was that rich! Trooowwwaaa.....!!!!!!!!  
  
Becky: Yeah, you just keep dreaming, there *pats Cathy on the back * but thanks for putting me in the fic.  
  
Cathy: * sniffles* Please review so I don't feel insane.  
  
Becky: Too late.  
  
Cathy: True. 


	3. The Bajeebas

Disclaimer: Let's create an analogy here:  
  
Me: Doesn't own Gundam Wing :: Trowa:_______  
  
a. Is not mine  
  
b. Should be mine  
  
c. Is totally hot  
  
Answer: All three.  
  
(I don't own 'Subway' either.)  
  
******************************  
  
Part 3:  
  
It was another fall day. I couldn't say it was boring, not with what was going on in my life at this time, but it definitely would have been. It was still the new school year, and my whole head was spinning with a million different things. Did I want to see Trowa again? Yes, but I was afraid to face him, after what happened the other day. . . ARGH! Why can't I just make up my mind! It was driving me crazy, and I knew just what to do; get my mind off of everything for a while.  
  
I saw Becky waiting up the steps at the entrance to school, and she waved furiously as I approached.  
  
"Hey buddy-boy!" she yelled over to me, impersonating Duo. I must say, it was a pretty bad impression, but that's not the kind of things you tell your friends. She was trying to be funny, anyway.  
  
"Call me Cathy! That's what Trowa called Catherine in the series," I demanded, laughing silently.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Cathy.call me, Shinigami!!!!" Becky joked further, with a defiant raise of her forefinger as she pushed open the door.  
  
"Right." I said, and followed behind her.  
  
The school was already abuzz with the latest gossip about the new students, and by the new students. They seemed to have made quite a splash into our small, ninth-grade class. I heard a few teases at Quatre's palate of clothing color upon walking in. Well, I tried to warn him. . .  
  
Duo's brash and witty personality had already won him quite a following, and the drooling girls that surrounding him all but waved around 'I love Duo' signs and chanted his name through the hallways. Duo didn't seem to mind the attention, but he knew how to hide when obsession became a little scary.  
  
Wufei, well, he'd joined the 'Math Counts' club. They're just a bunch of people who think they're better than anybody else because they can do math problems really quickly. Wufei is their leader or something, and they've all started wearing weird white, puffy pants that came above their waists, and learned how to glare at various random people for no reason at all. You have to . . .err.. . . learn to ignore them.  
  
Trowa, to my delight, and my despair, was nowhere to be seen before classes started, so I just went about my business as if nothing had ever happened. I wasn't going to go looking for false hopes.  
  
"Hey, Becky?" She turned to face me, "We have math first, right?"  
  
"Ick! You're right!" She sighed in despair. Math was our least favorite class, and having to take it at 7:30 in the morning didn't make it any more enjoyable, but there was nowhere else to go, so Becky and I both decided to go early to class. The teacher wouldn't be there, so we could talk about Duo and Trowa and all that implies.  
  
Walking in, I was surprised to see Duo leaning back in his chair, all the way in the back of class, but not as surprised as Becky was. She kind of froze right there in the doorway, and I had to poke her to keep her from turning into a pile of Jell-o. That's where the day was headed.  
  
"Hey, you're Quatre's friend, the girl that likes Trowa.right?" Duo asked, quite confidently as he brought his hands down from behind his head to face us both.  
  
"Uh, heh, heh, yeah." I replied, blushing. Becky, although having been saved from fainting on the floor with a very hard, and embarrassing 'thump', was still pretty much at a loss for words.  
  
"What are you two doing here early?" Duo asked us, still sitting down. I approached with caution, grabbing Becky's arm and dragging her over very slowly.  
  
"I don't know . . . just to talk and stuff, I guessed." I answered indifferently with a shrug.  
  
"Talk? Alright, I can talk. Take this seat, I don't know anyone here . . . Your friend talks, right?" Duo smirked at Becky, who was still recovering, and probably would have run out of the room right about now, had I not still had a firm grip on her arm.  
  
"Oh, forgive me for not introducing you, this is my friend, Becky!" I said with a smile, I knew that despite all .  
  
"Yo Becky, nice to meet 'cha! I'm Duo Maxwell!" he replied, only to find an awkward silence, and a fervently blushing Becky who might as well have been on another planet.  
  
"Nice to meet you too, Duo," Becky said in a very small, tentative voice. She was so obsessed with Duo, it wasn't funny, and a little scary, but at least she wasn't a rabid fan-girl. She had a honest-to-goodness crush.  
  
Becky and I took the two seats nearest Duo, all the way in the back. Soon, the bell rang, and class began.  
  
"Okay, class, pull out your homework from last night," Mr. Richton said.  
  
"Um, errrr, homework?" Duo asked.  
  
"Oh! Right.you're that new kid, well, welcome to math class!" Mr. R replied. "Let's see. . ." He rummaged through the drawers of his desk quickly before pulling out a worksheet. "This is the homework, and this," He handed Duo a second sheet, "is a quick test that you need to take to see what level you're in. Don't worry if you get to a question you can't answer, you won't be able to answer many of them, but it's required you take it."  
  
"Heh, um, right teach'!" Duo answered, slightly rolling his eyes. I could tell the God of Death wasn't really excited about math. He looked at the test and groaned, poking Becky slightly, "Hey, ya mind if I borrow a pencil?" He asked politely.  
  
"Sure!" Becky brightened, still in a whisper so as not to interrupt the teacher. Not that she'd be able to talk at full volume in front of Duo anyway, of course. Duo grabbed the pencil from her extended hand and began to work vigorously on the test in front of him, humming a song I recognized from my 'Creed' CD. I remembered taking that test. It was really hard and really long. No one finished.  
  
The period wore on the next couple of minutes, and Mr. R had already finished his short lesson and asked us to start on our homework, because he had given us a 10 page packet. Fun. . . yeah, sure.  
  
"Done!" Duo slapped Becky's pencil on the groove at the top of the desk and handed the test proudly to the teacher, walking back to his desk and cupping one hand towards us in a whisper, "watch this . . ."  
  
He pointed to Mr. R as he looked over Duo's test and he raised his eyebrows dangerously high. He looked at Duo, who now sat twiddling his thumbs innocently at his desk. Glancing over 'accidentally' at Mr. R, they made eye contact and he motioned Duo over to his desk. Becky and I listened in interest to their conversation.  
  
"What's your name?" Mr. R asked.  
  
"Maxwell, Duo Maxwell!" He puffed with pride.  
  
"Duo, you've gotten every question on this test correct. There's no way you could have the answers, so I know you haven't cheated, but I can't see how you could know this. The only other perfect score was actually that other new student, Heero Yuy. You know him, correct? These . . ." He pointed to the most difficult section of the test, "These are college level math problems! Where did you two learn calculus?"  
  
Duo shrugged, "Taught ourselves. Easy stuff." Mr. R stared, absolutely disbelieving before he burrowed one hand in his forehead. "What did Heero say about it?"  
  
"I don't know . . . something about mathematics being 'imperative to the mission'." Mr. R grumbled, "Crazy kids . . ." He raised his voice back to Duo who was still chuckling at Heero's response; "You may go back to your seat, now, till I figure out what to do with you."  
  
"Okay!" Duo grinned, returning to his seat and winking at the rest of us who had just witnessed the scene before handing Becky's pencil back to her, and continued to mingle in conversation with the rest of the class.  
  
It was really no big surprise that Duo excelled at math, but still, it was amazing.  
  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
  
  
  
I was surprised to see Trowa, Heero, Duo, and Quatre in my gym class. Even my crush, Evan, was there.  
  
"Okay, time for class!" Our gym instructor said. "Today, we have.gymnastics!"  
  
"Great." I heard Evan mumble. None of the boys liked gymnastics . . . because they're not good at it, obviously, but I smiled at Evan's reaction, knowing Trowa would do just fine.  
  
"Okay, boys first. We'll start with a warm-up, so all you guys get out there, and remember to spread-out so that no one gets in anyone's way! Girls, you'll have to wait. There's not enough room." Our gym instructor said after blowing the whistle a couple of times to calm us down. I watched all the boys trudge over to the mats. It was worse than a death march, but Trowa stood proud above all the rest, picking a small portion of the mat for himself.  
  
Trowa only quickly gathered force by crouching down before springing into the air with ease. He then proceeded to do a high double forward flip with a spin, landing squarely on the other side of the 10m mats. The instructor looked at him, amazed, and asked him to do it again, and he did. Everyone was silent as I applauded him.  
  
He smiled. "Thanks, Cathy."  
  
"Whoa! Wow, cool! Awesome! This dude is the coolest!" I heard kids exclaim from the side of the gym. I heard Hilde say, "Ooh, that cute clown again!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever. He probably went to some sissy gymnastics school before he came here . . . ." Evan grumbled. I rolled my eyes. Just because he always got the attention, and now suddenly someone was stealing his thunder for five minutes, he had to make fun of him.  
  
"Hey! Flip boy! Where'd you learn that, some sissy girls school for gymnastics?" Evan asked, staring evilly at Trowa. Trowa stood still, unmoved by the harsh words, but those who stood behind him weren't about to just let him walk away.  
  
"Omae o korosu . . ." Heero growled.  
  
"Why you little . . ." Duo began, clenching his fists, and pushing the glaring Heero aside, and approached Evan threateningly.  
  
"Shut up, Evan!" I shouted, stepping in front of all of them to defend Trowa. I wasn't going to let Heero glare forever, his face might just stay that way, and none of us want that. I wasn't going to let Duo punch his lights out, either. He'll just get kicked out  
  
"Cathy." Trowa said, looking at me.  
  
"Don't worry, I've got it under control, Trowa," I glared at Evan, and Heero came to help, but was stopped by Duo, who put a hand in front of him. Duo understood this was my battle, and still, today, I'm very grateful for him stepping aside.  
  
"Huh?" Evan wondered at the picture, staring me straight in the face. I may look nice, but NO ONE insults Trowa and gets away with it!  
  
"Becky taught me this (no, really, she did)." I said, punching Evan in the nose. Blood streamed down his chin. "Wimp."  
  
He clasped his face in more surprise than in pain as he drew back a bloodied finger. "Damn chick . . ." He hissed into the air, looking around at the people that were whispering behind his back. I puffed with pride. No one at my school would dare call me a 'weak little girl' again.  
  
"Awesome! Go Catherine!" Duo said, smiling and waving little 'you -go- girl' signs around the gym.  
  
"Cathy." Trowa stammered.  
  
"Excuse me, what going on?!" the gym instructor screeched, grabbing me by the arm, once she saw the bloody nose, and the fist that drew it.  
  
"Catherine . . . to the office, now!" The teacher yelled furiously, first at me, before staring-down a hyper-excited Duo, who quickly threw the signs away and went to stand next to Hilde.  
  
"N-no! It-it was me!" Trowa said before any decision could be made. Barely anyone except Duo, Hilde, Becky and I saw him being dragged off to the office.  
  
"He wouldn't do that for just anyone, you know." Duo tapped me on the shoulder, and I nodded silently. I should have gone after him, I know, but what would be the point. They would punish him just as badly, if not worse, for lying to them. What could I do?  
  
Trowa was really a great guy. I blushed unknowingly and Evan glared at me from behind his bloody nose. No one would talk to him after he was beat-up by a girl. Hah! I feel all 'superior', now, but it had to happen sometime, and better sooner than later. Man, he was a jerk! I can't believe I actually liked him!  
  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
  
/riiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggg/ The bell sounded.  
  
School was over, and my head was swimming with what had happened today. I didn't feel right. Looking up and down the hall frantically, I saw Trowa. Running over to him desperately, I started looking at him.  
  
"Trowa! You shouldn't have done that! I couldn't even say it was me, they would have punished you even worse!" I started yelling, but ended in a whisper.  
  
"Cathy.I-uh, um, never mind." Trowa stammered before biting his lip nervously and running off through the hall.  
  
"Trowa, wait!" I called after him. It's just like the guy I like to leave the moment I need to tell him something really important.  
  
"Mysterious guy, huh?" Heero said, scaring the bajeebas out of me. (don't ask)  
  
"Holy! Heero! Don't sneak up on me like that!" I exclaimed. Not that I was surprised he would be the one to show up out of the middle of nowhere.  
  
"Uh, sorry," Heero apologized, before looking back as a certain braided someone rang through the hallway.  
  
"Hey, buddy-boy!" Duo rounded the corner of the hallway and came up to Heero with a smile.  
  
"Hn. Duo. " Heero mumbled as Duo slung an arm around his shoulder. Heero shook it off quickly. He wasn't a 'touchy' person, and let's just leave it at that. I won't mention the hidden gun that he refused to pull in public.  
  
"I hear Relena has a party invitation for you . . . . some-bod-y likes you . . . ." Duo said in a sing-song voice before breaking out in a chuckle.  
  
"Shut up!" Heero shouted. It was getting harder and harder not to pull the gun on Duo. It's usually his way of expression, but ever since that 'peer counseling' seminar, Heero had a moral against pulling a gun on his best friend. I think Duo was taking advantage.  
  
"Heero and Relena, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes-" Duo sang before Heero shoved him into a the wall, and walked out of the door, trying to contain his anger.  
  
"HEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOO!" Relena ran down the hall, preppy neon pink dress trailing behind. She came up to Heero, who was still annoyed, and had now, become just on the verge of insanity and about to fall off.  
  
Relena handed him the invitation and Heero fell to the ground, laughing insanely. Yup, he just fell off . . . Strange kid . . .  
  
"Geez! Finally cracked, did he?" Duo said, watching Heero convulsing on the hallway floor.  
  
We watched, as Heero was found, still laughing insanely on the floor, by one of the school security guards.  
  
"Hey, are you okay, kid?" He asked, picking him up gently off the floor, but Heero kicked him onto the ground easily and laughed his way down the hall, pulling his gun on nearly everyone he saw and shooting all over the place. We saw the security guard widen his eyes in horror, pulling out a walkie-talkie.  
  
"This is 'geese' to 'doghouse', 'doghouse', do you read?" There was a bunch of static from the other hand that none of us could distinguish. "We've got a code red! A CODE RED headed to your position!!!" We watched as several security guards raced through the hall, following the sounds of Heero's gun.  
  
"Yeeeaaaahhhhh. . . ." I said, watching in awe at what had just occurred.  
  
"There you are! I've been looking all over!" Becky exclaimed, running up to me; she was followed very closely by Quatre, who was very happy to finally have found me.  
  
"Oh hey!" I said, waving at my excited friends, who stopped when they came to me to catch their breaths  
  
"So, are you ready to come over?" Quatre asked Becky and I.  
  
"Yup! My sister, Terry is waiting. She said she'd pick us up in her new car somewhere in the parking lot.  
  
As we were walking out to the parking lot, I heard Duo say, "I guess I'll go somewhere fun today . . . . . SUBWAY!" He ran off. Riiight . . .  
  
We reached the parking lot, only to find Wufei in a leather jacket, spraying "Nataku" on all the cars with blue spray-paint. "Nataku shall rule the world! Ha ha ha ha ha! All weaklings shall perish!"  
  
"Uh huh . . . ." We all said in unison, watching the crazed Chinese boy run around the parking lot, trying in vain to be a fugitive.  
  
"Hey, Quatre! Where's Maxwell? He promised to help me spray the cars today!" Wufei asked angrily, because almost certain of the answer.  
  
"Ummm . . . . I think I heard him say something about 'Subway'." Quatre said, raising a pensive finger to the side of his face, looking up into nowhere, unsure of his response. It didn't make sense, to any of us, but everyone soon found that it was very correct when Wufei turned bright red with anger.  
  
"Again! He's always blowing me off for 'Subway'! Injustice to all ham and cheese sandwiches!!!" Wufei screamed, spray-painting another car.  
  
We spotted Terry leaning against a yellow convertible (yeah, she wishes).  
  
"Schweet!" We exclaimed, drooling over every polished curve on the car. "Nice ride!"  
  
"I know." Terry said, smiling slightly in pride.  
  
Wufei approached the vehicle, and raised his spray bottle towards the immaculate surface, but Terry whipped out a mini-pink-spray bottle and kicked Wufei onto the ground, spray-painting "Weakling" on his butt before he could do any damage.  
  
"Noooo! Injustice! You shall pay; you shall all pay!!!" Wufei screamed, convulsing on the floor in pain of his defeat.  
  
"Whatever." Terry raised an eyebrow, "Let's get outta here." She said, turning around to her car while we all we looked on in wonder at the scene before us.  
  
We all stared at the cursing Wufei on the ground, shrugged, and jumped into the car.  
  
"Where to?" Terry asked casually as she started to put the key in the ignition.  
  
"My place!" Quatre smiled. Terry looked back and blushed a little at the blond-haired boy.  
  
"You just show the way." Terry told Quatre, voice softened a bit from before. Quatre nodded, telling Becky's older sister the first of the directions. Becky looked at the picture with interest as Terry quieted before turning around to face the road. But whatever that signified, we headed off to the Winner mansion nonetheless.  
  
~~~  
  
The car ride consisted of a quiet Terry, while Quatre told us about his herb garden and how to make chamomile tea from scratch. Becky and I really couldn't care less, but Terry listened with unintentional interest.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity for everyone except Terry and Quatre, we pulled up to a huge, white mansion with pillars and balconies and huge gates surrounding it.  
  
"Okay, thanks, Terri!" Becky said.  
  
"No problem. And, by the way, who's the cute friend?" Terri asked, raising one eyebrow.  
  
"Quatre Raberba Winner. He was one of the new students at school." Becky answered, slightly laughing as the three of us hopped out of the car.  
  
"Hey, what are you laughing at? He's cute!" Terri poked at her little sister, silencing Becky for a minute before she burst out laughing again. "Just call me when you want to come home, k?" Becky nodded between chuckles and received a sigh from her older sister, who gave Quatre a quick wink before driving off.  
  
As we approached the huge house, we realized how large it actually was, with an electric gate towering above us all that was easily 20 feet in height. He must be really rich!  
  
We quickly ran up behind Quatre to the main gate, where he punched in a code, and the gate opened. "C'mon. . ." he added, running to open the second door and allow us all entrance.  
  
We followed a hurried Quatre inside his mansion. Whoa, it was HUGE! It was beautiful, too, with shiny, decorated hardwood floors, and huge paintings and murals on the walls in every room. Also, there was the most elegant furniture I had ever seen!  
  
We followed Quatre upstairs into his room, and were surprised to see a long, chestnut-colored braid hanging down from the back of Quatre's pink chair, and a ham and cheese Subway sandwich on the desk.  
  
"Duo?!" We exclaimed in unison.  
  
"Yo, Quatre! Nice digs!" Duo replied, taking another bite of his sandwich.  
  
"Gosh, you tell me that every time you come over!" Quatre laughed.  
  
How Duo had gotten past that huge front gate was a mystery to all of us, but one that was best left uninvestigated, I suppose. I mean, for someone who knows high-level calculus, I guess it wasn't a big stretch.  
  
I looked around the room. Pink carpet, pink walls, pink ceiling, pink bed and bedspread, pink desk and chair, pink dresser, and pink everything else you would find in a room.  
  
"So, you guys know each other pretty well, huh?" Becky questioned, pointing a finger at Quatre and Duo.  
  
"Ummm. . . .sure," Duo replied, looking nervously at a frozen Quatre behind him, who was trying his best to ignore the question at all costs.  
  
"How?" I asked.  
  
"Well, uh, er, heh, heh, can't say." Duo answered.  
  
I picked up Quatre's pink binoculars, and looked out the window. As soon as I saw a huge covering over something in the backyard by the hedge maze, I turned to Quatre with a smirk crossing my face.  
  
"Hey, Quatre! What's that?" I asked, pointing to the covered thing, obviously knowing what it was. And how couldn't it be?  
  
"Ummm.that's, that's." Quatre stammered.  
  
"Sandrock!" Becky announced, grabbing the pink binoculars from my hands to get a better look.  
  
"How do you know about all this?" Quatre asked, with a confused look on his face.  
  
"Because we're spies from OZ and we want to destroy all the Gundam pilots." I replied, words dripping with sarcasm. To my surprise, Becky and I found ourselves at the receiving end of Duo's silver revolver in a split second.  
  
"Put the binoculars DOWN!" Duo narrowed his eyes and flicked his gun at Becky, who dropped them immediately. Quatre just turned away. He didn't want to see any of his friends get hurt, but it was the mission, and he couldn't stop Duo from following orders. It scared him, though, that he would have to be the one with the gun if Duo hadn't showed-up at his house that afternoon.  
  
"I was kidding! I was kidding!" I said, raising my arms up instantaneously in defense at Duo, who was dead serious about shooting us right there. "You're from a TV series in this dimension that no one seems to remember about except for us!"  
  
"Well, okay, then prove it." Duo said, steadying his gun, "I bet 'cha don't know anything about me!" He said, flipping his braid back over his shoulder with his left hand.  
  
"Your Gundam is Deathscythe, or Deathscythe Hell, when it was rebuilt. You were a war orphan on the streets and were taken in by the Maxwell church after a plague went around and you lost your best friend, Solo. Enough? Or should I say more?" Becky asked, giggling a little at her knowledge of his past, and at the gun that dropped from Duo's hands in shock.  
  
"What?! B-but how????" Duo screeched, falling out of his chair and onto his butt on the floor.  
  
"So, if they're not from OZ, they aren't a threat to us, right Duo?" Quatre asked, and Duo (still a bit dizzy from the fall) nodded. Quatre turned to us. "You guys, promise not to tell anyone about all this?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure!" Becky and I replied in unison.  
  
"Pinky promise?" Quatre questioned, with a pleading face. He stuck his pinky up in the air.  
  
"Oh my God. . . . this is embarrassing." Duo grumbled, still on the floor.  
  
"Yeah, um, whatever Quatre . . . ." I said, sweat-dropping with Becky.  
  
The door creaked open. "Master Quatre, your tea is ready!"  
  
*********************************  
  
Foxfire: *does a happy dance* ^0^  
  
Cathy: *ignoring her* (crazy editors -_-;)  
  
Becky: Relena -finally- drove Heero to insanity. Glad that's over.  
  
Cathy: Where did Trowa go?! *pouts* 


	4. A Change Of Costume

All right! The next chapter of Gundam Wing: Fake or Real? is up! YAY! Sorry for taking  
  
so damn long, but I was preoccupied for a while . . . you know how it is -.- Anyways,  
  
you all must thank Lorim for her support and if it weren't for her, I might not have  
  
written this much more. Hee hee, but now, I have the rest of this planned out, and I  
  
assure you, it will be great!!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! Um, yeaaaaaah . . . okies,  
  
anyways, I'll let you guys in on a little secret; actually, I SMELL a sequel for this. Heh  
  
heh, sorry, I've been playing waaay too much Grandia 2 lately, and now I'm starting to  
  
sound like Mareg . . . heh heh, not good. So anyways, enjoy, and this next chapter is  
  
dedicated to my faithful reviewer, Lorim!!!  
  
----  
  
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Gundam Wing, and neither do  
  
you.  
  
Wasn't that great? Oh yeah, I don't own Barbies, Ferris Wheels, The House of Mirrors,  
  
Yami No Matsuei, or Grandia 2 . . . eh heh, well, anyways, enjoy!  
  
----  
  
"Catherine! Late again?! This isn't acceptable!" Master scolded, his eyes narrowing  
  
and glaring at me.  
  
    "Uh, sorry…" I apologized with a sarcastic tone, and slightly rolled my eyes. I walked  
  
into the dressing room. No Trowa. Where was he?  
  
I grabbed my costume off the hook on the wall, and pulled the green curtain closed.  
  
First, the leggings. Next, the dress. God, this is annoying, why does Catherine have to  
  
wear so much in the show?! After all, I'm the one who has to put up with it now… After  
  
I was finished dressing, I looked at myself in the mirror. I would never wear anything  
  
like this . . . ever. How does she pull this off every episode?  
  
I pulled the curtain open and walked out into the make-up room and began applying  
  
everything I needed to make my "features show up" as the circus master claims.  
  
Having to make myself up like this everyday, well, it kind of makes me feel like a  
  
frigging Barbie!!! As I was brushing some dark brown mascara on my eyelashes, I  
  
began to worry about Trowa. Why wasn't he in here putting on his costume?  
  
"Um, where's Trowa?" I asked, a bit disappointed. Where was that hot clown when you  
  
had the desire to check him out? Ooh I'm such a naughty girl, heh heh heh. ^_~  
  
  "He's out back, probably looking up at the sunset like he always does, weird kid. Tell  
  
him to hurry up, because he's up soon!" The circus master ordered, as he pointed his  
  
stubby index finger in the direction of the curtain leading outside.  
  
    "Sure."  
  
    As I pulled back the curtain, the wind blew fiercely and my hair danced around my  
  
shoulders. I looked up at the sky, and sure enough, there was a beautiful sunrise. The  
  
once clear blue sky had started to evolve into a mixture of deep reds, purples,  
  
yellows, and oranges that blended together beautifully, and the sun was slowly  
  
setting, and yet still strongly burning its golden light through the mixture of colors. I  
  
scanned the area for Trowa, but he wasn't in sight. I just followed a thin dirt path  
  
down past another tent. Eventually, I ended up at the bottom of a small hill, and  
  
there he was, hands in his jean pockets, leaning up against a huge rectangular object  
  
that was draped in a heavy cloth. Was that . . . ?  
  
    "Heavyarms?" I blurted out; I mean it was quite obvious, what else would be back here  
  
draped in a huge cloth? There's not really much backstage at the circus since it moves  
  
from place to place so frequently.  
  
    "Huh?! Cathy, you scared me! What was that you were saying?" Trowa asked,  
  
suspicious, his eyes widening. Oh, you're really in for it now, Cathy . . .  
  
    "Oh, um, nothing. Just . . . just saying how heavy my arms feel when I-uh- well-let  
  
them hang down . . . ANYWAYS! I gotta run, so, uh, bye!" I replied, blushing. Oh my  
  
God, that was so stupid. My heavy arms? What the hell was I thinking? I could win an  
  
award for being the person who makes up the worst excuses.  
  
    Everyday it was becoming more difficult to pretend we had no clue about each of the  
  
boys being Gundam pilots, and to not mention our knowing. That time, I barely  
  
slipped by. This incident led me to think about how Becky did almost the same exact  
  
thing at school before . . .  
  
We all were standing around in our little group, around Quatre's locker right after our  
  
last block of the day, just talking about random things like we always do, until . . .  
  
"Hey, Quatre! Wazzup?" Becky asked, waving her hand around.  
  
    "Oh, uh, nothing much . . . " Quatre sighed; he looked tired. Maybe he was on a sugar-low.  
  
He had his first soda today, which eventually led to fifty million more in that same  
  
lunch block; he was practically bouncing off the walls then.  
  
    "Right . . . how's Sandrock?! (realizing what she had just said) Uh, I mean the sand and  
  
rocks in my locker! But-uh-why would you know? Well, um, I gotta go get the sand and  
  
rocks out of my locker, so uh, bye!" Becky stammered, quickly spinning around and  
  
running down the hall in the direction of her locker.  
  
    "Ummm . . . what was that all about?" Quatre wondered, a puzzled look plastered  
  
across his face. One of his eyebrows was raised; it was quite a funny expression.  
  
    "Uh . . . no idea . . . heh, heh . . . " I replied, putting my hand behind my back. That  
  
was waaaaay too close, nice cover up Becky . . . well, kinda.  
  
    After being spaced-out thinking about previous events that had occurred during the  
  
day, I snapped back to reality and remembered what I had come out here for. I turned  
  
around while yelling, "Trowa! Master wants you to get ready, because your act is  
  
coming up soon!"  
  
    "Kay, Cathy!" he replied, his lips curling up into a gentle smile, his emerald eyes  
  
shining as they reflected the sun.  
  
    I knew it was Heavyarms, I just knew it . . . but how would I tell him? And how was I  
  
supposed to tell him that I knew practically everything about him?  
  
    Following the dirt path I had come from before, I jogged back towards the opening in  
  
the tent that led into the make-up room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trowa  
  
getting off of Heavyarms, and beginning to walk back to the tent. Once I averted my  
  
eyes from the dreamy clown, and focused on getting back inside. As I was hurrying  
  
along on the path, something caught my eye. I saw a luminous purple light shining  
  
through the bright fabric of the animal tent to my left. Well, that's a little weird; are  
  
they installing new lights?  
  
    I turned down a dark alley between the tents, and pulled back the smooth fabric,  
  
revealing a glowing swirl of pearly colors. It was almost as if it was floating there, and  
  
I highly doubted it was real. Was my mind playing tricks on me, am I going completely  
  
nuts?  
  
    Curiously, I reached out my hand and let it hover slightly above the mysterious  
  
floating swirl. I felt a sort of sucking at the palm of my hand, almost as if I was being  
  
pulled in.  
  
Feeling courageous, I ruthlessly stretched out my entire left arm into the colors, and  
  
then found myself being devoured by the luminescent oval of colors. For a couple  
  
seconds, there was just this bright light, until it faded into the normal scenery I had  
  
been surrounded by just moments before. It was almost as if nothing had happened at  
  
all.  
  
I shrugged and just decided to get on with tonight's show. Feeling slightly baffled, I  
  
walked back towards the opening in the tent, and walked inside.  
  
    "Huh? Young lady! What are you doing here?" The circus master asked. This was  
  
strange, he did not look anything like the master from Gundam Wing. I was  
  
completely mystified. This man was older, with wisps of gray and white hair lying on  
  
his forehead, fierce blue eyes, quite noticeable cheekbones, and wrinkles . . . lots of  
  
'em.  
  
    "I-I'm . . . er, going now!" I stammered, as I did a 180 degree turn and headed for the  
  
opposite exit.  
  
    "Who?!" he questioned. "Look, girl, just get out!"  
  
    Who was that man? And where was Trowa?  
  
I ran all the way home to my house; when I walked into the bathroom, I shrieked. The  
  
face that stared back at me in the mirror was just my normal, everyday face, not  
  
Catherine from the show. Had I suddenly morphed into my normal self again?  
  
~~~  
  
I woke up the next morning, assuming everything that I had imagined, the whole world  
  
of Gundam Wing, was a dream. Of course it had been, how else could I have almost  
  
kissed Trowa???!  
  
    I got ready for school, and my mom drove me off and dropped me by the front door,  
  
of course, Becky was waiting there.  
  
    "Hey, Goddess of Death!" I smiled as I greeted her, trying to figure out if she had any  
  
idea about what was going on.  
  
    "Hey, Cathy!" Becky replied. "Gosh, I really do wish they were real . . . "  
  
    "Heh, uh, yeah . . . um . . . " I mumbled. I had almost blurted out that they were!  
  
    All of a sudden, Evan came walking up behind us.  
  
    "Ya think he'll ask you to the prom?" Becky whispered in my ear.  
  
    "I dunno . . . " I answered. I had really forgotten about the prom, and Evan, since the  
  
'punching' incident. But that really didn't happen, at least I didn't think, so maybe he  
  
really isn't as stupid as he was in my 'dream.'  
  
    "Hi, Catherine!" Oh God, why was he talking to me? He had never called me Cathy in  
  
real life . . . that was only in my 'dream.' Err! If only that part was real . . . (sigh)  
  
    "Uh, Cathy?" Becky asked, waving her hand back and forth in front of my eyes. I  
  
snapped out of my daze.  
  
    "Wuh?" I blurted out. Becky chuckled, and said, "C'mon, stop drooling over Evan and  
  
get to class!"  
  
    The day crawled by, and I realized how boring my real life actually was, the same  
  
routine over and over again each day. Eventually, it came time for lunch.  
  
    Becky and I were sitting at our favorite table, which was closest to the windows, with  
  
the best view out onto the field. I wondered what Trowa would be doing at this time  
  
of the day. I sighed, remembering he was completely fictional after all.  
  
    "Hey, hey, buddy, what's up?" Becky nagged, trying to pry into my feelings.  
  
    "Er, nothing really. I'm just a little tired, you know how it is . . . " I lied. Why didn't  
  
she know? If she did, would she talk about it? Was that world real? Or did I just think  
  
it all up in my head?  
  
    "Ahhh, I see it now. PMS, huh?" Becky joked. I almost choked on my sandwich after  
  
hearing her say this; eventually, I forced the chewed up sandwich down my throat the  
  
right way. At least, I thought she wasn't being serious. She's a hard person to figure  
  
out.  
  
    "Eh heh, not exactly, my friend. More like a heart ache," I explained, without really  
  
paying attention to the words that were coming out of my mouth. "I-I mean, heart  
  
burn!" That was a sorry excuse for . . . well, an excuse.  
  
    "Don't think I didn't hear you say that! Aww, little Cathy's gone and gotten her heart  
  
broken. C'mon, spill!" Man, she was pissing me off.  
  
    " . . . " I stole Trowa's line. I was thinking about him way more than I ought to. I  
  
couldn't help it; I missed him.  
  
~~~  
  
The bell resounded in my ears as I walked into English class. Great, time for another  
  
completely boring speech from Ms. Grandia. I resented not having more caffeine with  
  
my lunch.  
  
I decided to take the seat that Trowa had sat in during my "dream." Eww, it was still  
  
warm from the last person who sat down in it last block.  
  
    "Okay, class, today, we're learning about sensory imagery!" Ms. Grandia explained. I  
  
tried to suppress a giggle, it was pretty damn hard. I remembered how I had  
  
previously fantasized over Trowa when he walked in during the 'sensory imagery  
  
lesson.' Those were some pretty grand images I was getting in my head.  
  
    "Sensory imagery is when you use your five senses . . . "  
  
    Before I could order it to stop, my mind began to play my fantasies of Trowa in my  
  
head; not like I'd like it to stop. If I could, I'd watch them over and over and over  
  
again until I couldn't bear to see him anymore, as if that was ever going to happen!  
  
~~~  
  
    Through the sea of bodies swarming through the busy halls of the high school, I  
  
miraculously located the front doors. I pushed the left one open, and just stood  
  
outside for a moment, letting the sun warm me up with its golden light.  
  
    "Hey, Catherine! Wait up!" a voice called, which was way too masculine sounding to  
  
be Becky's. Well, you never know . . . she could be drunk.  
  
    I whipped my head around, my hair tickling the side of my cheek. Evan stood before  
  
me, with his dirty blonde hair covering part of his left eye, messed up from hurrying  
  
through the halls after me. I laughed inside; his hair covering his left eye reminded  
  
me of Trowa.  
  
    "So, uh, you know, there's a carnival tonight . . . I was wondering if you wanted to tag  
  
along with me?" Evan suggested.  
  
    "Oh, um, sure!" I happily accepted his invitation. I tried to smile, but I could sense  
  
how fake it must of looked. It didn't make sense, the boy whom I've worshipped for  
  
half of my life suddenly asks me out, and I can't even feel any sort of emotion; what's  
  
wrong with me?!  
  
"Okay, it's by the circus. I'll meet you at the ticket booth at six. See ya!" he explained,  
  
and ran off. I just stood there, watching him run away, his backpack swinging back  
  
and forth as he ran; Trowa could definitely run faster than him.  
  
~~~  
  
   
  
After I finished applying my make-up, I grabbed some money off of my parent's  
  
dresser (hey, I always pay them back . . . sometimes), and ran off to (sigh) the circus  
  
. . . I wished that Trowa would be there . . .  
  
    As I was walking to the circus, I had the sudden urge to turn around, and just leave  
  
him a message telling him I'd fallen ill. It was a lame thing to do, I decided, but it  
  
might've been better than going to the circus and reminding myself even more of  
  
Trowa. I quickly shook off the idea; that would just be a cruel thing to do to Evan, in  
  
this life, he was definitely not the same jerk that was in the other world. Reluctantly,  
  
I sped up my "slow-as-a-turtle" pace and eventually arrived at the circus. I made my  
  
way over to the ticket booth, and spotted Evan. He was dressed in a navy blue  
  
sweater and khaki pants, I'd much rather be going out with a certain guy wearing a  
  
blue turtleneck and white jeans, but I decided to ignore my longings for Trowa on  
  
such a night . . . damn, it sure was hard to, though!  
  
"Hey! I'll buy us some tickets, you go save us a spot at the Ferris wheel, ok?" He asked,  
  
his brown eyes sparkling.  
  
    "'Kay!" I complied, and ran off, but took a minute to examine the scenery first. The  
  
circus tents and rides were covered in shimmering neon lights of all colors, and there  
  
seemed to be a few interesting looking rides scattered about the field. It certainly  
  
was busy tonight, since it was opening night. I located the Ferris wheel, and looked up  
  
at the people swinging back and forth slightly, staring up into the sky. It wasn't a nice  
  
night for the carnival; there weren't many stars in the sky.  
  
    I waited alone in the deformed line for a while, until Evan ran up to me; Evan's skin  
  
was shimmering pink and green as he stood under the lights of the towering wheel.  
  
We cut ahead of all these stupid people who didn't even notice, and eventually got a  
  
seat on the ride. A jolly man with a curly mustache and a crinkly smile locked us in,  
  
and we began to go up. After we had been around the wheel once, Evan reached out  
  
for my hand and said, "Wow, this is nice, don't you think?"  
  
    "Yeah . . . " I whispered. No, I didn't think. Well, at least, not about him. My thoughts  
  
were still focused completely on Trowa, it was driving me crazy, and yet, I was  
  
enjoying it at the same time. I only wished that Evan could have asked me out when I  
  
had actually liked him, now, as I sat there with him, I felt nothing, I wasn't even  
  
embarrassed like you should be on a first date.  
  
    Evan smiled, and put his arm around me. It was quite an awkward feeling, at least for  
  
me. My once obsessive crush was permanently lost somewhere deep under all my  
  
thoughts of Trowa.  
  
We did about ten more circles around the wheel, until we were near the top. All of a  
  
sudden, the ride began to swing a bit, unsteady, as Evan turned towards me. The ride  
  
began to move a bit down and stopped. We were almost at the bottom, just a little  
  
bit more . . . please, somebody save me! Evan closed his eyes, and his hand gripped  
  
onto my cheek and turned my whole head towards him. Uh oh, not good . . . His lips  
  
were quivering a bit, and they were almost on mine. Trowa's lips would never quiver,  
  
he was so manly . . . so . . . perfect. Evan, however, was so close, and I could feel his  
  
short, nervous breaths; I grimaced. Kissing him seemed gross now, especially  
  
compared to what I could have with Trowa. This was it, Evan was going to kiss me. His  
  
lips almost touched mine when I turned away. I couldn't do it, not with my mind only  
  
on Trowa and no one else. Evan looked disappointed, and a little confused.  
  
    CLICK! "You're done!" the guy running the wheel exclaimed. When I got off, for some  
  
reason, I felt relieved. Deep down I really wished it was Trowa I was here with . . .  
  
    "Time to go watch the acts!" Evan exclaimed, excitedly. I, however, was not so  
  
excited.  
  
    "Hey, uh, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, okay?" I asked. "Don't worry, I'll be back in  
  
time for the acts!"  
  
    "Sure, I'll meet you at the cotton candy stand and we can walk from there." Evan  
  
replied, and walked off, his shoulders sagging down and his arms being pulled  
  
aimlessly along with him by his sides. He looked like some weird cave man.  
  
    I ran over to the big circus tent, and pulled open the curtain, going backstage to the  
  
changing room. Since everyone was out performing, no one was there to catch me. I  
  
walked out to the back, and discovered that there was no Gundam and no Trowa.  
  
Disappointed, I began to walk back to my horrible date, until I realized something.  
  
What about that weird portal thing that brought me here in the first place? That had  
  
to still be here! I ran back through the dark alley, lifted up the colorful striped cloth  
  
that covered it before, and there it was, glowing and spinning its colors slowly around  
  
in circles.  
  
    "Okay, here goes . . . " I thought to myself, I had no other choice. I had to get out of  
  
there for a while. Without hesitation, I jumped right through.  
  
~~~  
  
CRASH! My eyesight went blurry for a moment. Once it cleared, I found that I was  
  
surrounded by shiny black walls with white squares scattered about on them, in no  
  
particular pattern. On the walls, there were hundreds of t.v.'s, each one, surprisingly,  
  
displaying common places where the Gundam boys hung out. Where the hell was I?  
  
    I shakily stood up on my wobbling legs, which eventually became stable. My head  
  
began to throb, and all I could do was rub it helplessly with my hand.  
  
Geez, my butt hurt, too. I knew that I was going to get a monster bruise the next day.  
  
I walked about, not really knowing where I was going. After turning a couple corners, I  
  
found I was in a huge maze of mirrors. It kind of reminded me of the House of Mirrors  
  
at one of those big amusement parks my parents used to take me to when I was a lot  
  
younger.  
  
    It was sort of freaky, being surrounded by hundreds of mirrors, and millions of  
  
pictures of myself. Every now and then, I bumped into a mirror; I guess you can say  
  
that I don't exactly have the best sense of direction in the world . . . it was strange,  
  
bumping into reflections of myself.  
  
    After about ten minutes, I could tell I was very close to the center of the maze of  
  
mirrors. On the corner, there were five TVs, each one tracking all of one of the pilot's  
  
moves. Displayed on the screen of the TV in the middle with a number three marked  
  
on it, I was happily surprised to see Trowa getting dressed. He was in his boxer  
  
shorts!!! KYAHHHHHH! He was so hot! I could see each one of his muscles as he moved  
  
across the room to open his dresser to find a fresh turtleneck and pair of jeans. On  
  
the TV screen next to it, I watched an almost naked Duo (he was wearing boxers,  
  
man, Becky would pay good money to see this stuff . . . any way I could steal a tape?)  
  
grin evilly and stuff Trowa's usual costume of aqua turtlenecks and white jeans into  
  
his own drawers. Uh oh, this wasn't good. All of a sudden, Trowa turned bright red on  
  
his screen, and boy, he looked angry. Instead of aqua turtle necks, there were just a  
  
bunch of green tank tops. Bad boy, Duo, bad boy.  
  
    Eventually, each of the boys arrived in the hallway, staring in disbelief at each other.  
  
On Heero's monitor, it showed Heero wearing a pink shirt, purple vest and khaki  
  
pants.  
  
I burst out laughing. "Pink doesn't suit me. Omae o korosu, Duo." Threatened Heero.  
  
On Duo's screen, Duo was modeling Trowa's turtleneck and tight jeans. He also had his  
  
hair gelled over the left side of his face, so long that it went all the way down to his  
  
waist. "Hey guys, lookie, I'm Trowa!" Duo joked, doing a complete turn so everyone  
  
could see.  
  
    "I-I feel like . . . these pants are slipping down . . . " Quatre worried, staring down at  
  
himself, dressed in Wufei's outfit.  
  
    "SO I HAVEN'T WATCHED MY WEIGHT IN A WHILE!!! SUE ME, WEAKLING!" Wufei fumed  
  
on his TV, as he modeled Duo's tight black pants, priest's collar, and black shirt; he  
  
looked beyond ridiculous.  
  
There was a loud 'rip' sound as Wufei turned around, and you could see boxers with  
  
little Nataku's printed on them.  
  
"Hey, watch it, don't rip my pants, fatty!" Duo screeched, mourning over the loss  
  
    " . . . " Trowa was silent, what else is new? He looked pretty hot in a muscle shirt, and  
  
the green matched his eyes. But the spandex . . . well, I don't know about that.  
  
    "So, you like clowns, do you?" A nasal voice teased from in front of me. Confused, I  
  
passed the TVs and walked into the middle of the maze. Sure enough, the owner of  
  
the nasal voice was sitting at a thin glass table, along with four other men. Take a  
  
guess who they were.  
  
    I felt my cheeks burning as the doctors laughed with a couple of snorts thrown in. This  
  
was pure torture.  
  
    "I-uh, was just, um, looking," I stammered, staring at my feet.  
  
    "You know, Catherine, we've summoned you here for a certain reason . . . " Dr. J  
  
began, pushing his glasses up farther on the bridge of his nose, doing a pathetic Yami  
  
No Matsuei imitation. (Muraki is so much cooler when he does it! And creepier,  
  
too . . . oops, wrong anime!)  
  
    "Where the hell am I, you creeps?" I screeched, pounding my fists on the table. Dr. O  
  
jumped in his seat, startled.  
  
    "Actually, you're in the portal between times," Dr. H stated. "You can come here  
  
whenever you enter one of those portals, except-"  
  
    "The portals . . . " I trailed off, getting lost in my thoughts. They were confusing me,  
  
and I hoped I would understand what was happening to me by the end of this.  
  
    "Yes, we've called you here to talk to you about just that. The problem is, the portals  
  
are closing up in exactly one month. So that would be the sixteenth of November.  
  
However, there is a mission you must accomplish before you finally choose what  
  
world you want to be in." Dr. G blabbed on and on, his voice beginning to irritate the  
  
heck out of me. I tried not to stare at his nose, but man, was it huge! I broke out into  
  
hysterical laughter. The doctors exchanged nervous glances, and whispered quietly to  
  
each other. Once I settled down, they continued to explain.  
  
    "Something is bound to happen when the boys are in such a place where anyone can  
  
see them. There is a chance that OZ might find them . . . " Dr. O's expression became  
  
quite grave. OZ . . . just what exactly would they try to do?  
  
    "As always, OZ can be quite unpredictable, so you'll just have to watch your back, and  
  
stay alert. Okay, back on topic, though. You need to tell each of the boys, not just  
  
Quatre and Duo, about you and Becky both knowing their pasts and about the  
  
Gundams," Dr. S lectured.  
  
    "Say what, old man?!" I couldn't believe my ears. Great, I'd have to have a chat with  
  
Wufei, this was turning out just lovely. She could just imagine him rambling on about  
  
justice, weak onnas, and weaklings.  
  
    "You must tell them, it matters not how you do it, just as you get it done with," Dr. J  
  
said, almost as if he could read my mind.  
  
    "I understand," I replied. But . . .  
  
    "You must form a deep bond with these pilots, and you must be able to trust each  
  
other. You might just end up helping them in great ways," Dr. G explained, as he  
  
stroked the stray hairs of his silvery mustache. I nodded.  
  
    "Once you accomplish your mission in their world, their jobs will be over and they will  
  
be able to live in peace, and have normal lives. It will be a good change for them . .  
  
." Dr. J smiled, thinking of the boys living happily.  
  
    "Is there any way the portal will reappear?" I asked. Would this be the last, and only  
  
time I ever got to see Trowa? I sighed sadly.  
  
    "Well, once your mission is done in their world, you must choose the world you want  
  
to live in forever. It will probably best to let them forget about you, and their  
  
memories of you will most likely be erased once the portal closes. However, if you  
  
fall in love, say, with a certain pilot, and he loves you and can see through your body  
  
as Catherine Bloom and into your actual soul that stays with you always, then there is  
  
a chance his memory of you will never be erased, and that the portal may reappear.  
  
But this only happens if the boy is yearning for you and missing you dearly," Explained  
  
Dr. G. I blushed. Maybe there was a chance that . . . that, Trowa would be her pilot in  
  
this case? She bashfully put her hands behind her back.  
  
    "Why am I trapped in . . . in her body?" I asked, looking down at myself, in Catherine  
  
Bloom's body.  
  
    "Because, you too are much alike. You both share the same admiration and love for  
  
Trowa. You watch over him, and are some how destined to protect him. It is all very  
  
complicated, however, we cannot waste any more time. We must return you to their  
  
world . . . " Dr. S informed me. Before I could say anything in response, my eyesight  
  
became a bit blurry and I let out a small gasp. Before I could even realize it, I was  
  
standing outside the tents, right by the blended colors of the portal.  
  
    I looked up at the sky; it was still the same sunset! Trowa was nearby, I could sense  
  
him, and ever fiber of my being began to stir with excitement. My heart pumped  
  
furiously and my fingers trembled slightly. I began to run down the path, and into the  
  
changing room without asking first. Trowa was there, staring at me with his  
  
shimmering emerald eyes, which searched deep inside mine, he was shirtless, and he  
  
looked hot! Tears of joy slid down my cheeks, this was my new home, and oh how  
  
good it felt to finally be home!  
  
     
  
~~~  
  
     
  
Um, yeah! You're done reading this chapter. I've already almost finished the second  
  
one, so that'll be up here soon, too! *Imagining Trowa shirtless* ANYways . . . I kept  
  
writing and not actually posting, so, that's really what took me so long . . . eh  
  
heh . . . Okay, please review!!! I hope you guys liked it! 


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